Baxter Bros Inc. Sells 77 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Baxter Bros Inc. lessened its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,539 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 77 shares during the quarter. Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $3,555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter valued at $851,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in 3M by 16.2% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,004,000 after buying an additional 20,421 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in 3M by 26.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $114,770,000 after acquiring an additional 178,450 shares in the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,511,000 after acquiring an additional 2,678 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in shares of 3M by 88.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after purchasing an additional 4,212,409 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MMM. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America boosted their price target on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.13.

3M Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of MMM opened at $153.35 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $83.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a 12 month low of $85.62 and a 12 month high of $156.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $148.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. Analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. 3M’s payout ratio is 38.68%.

About 3M

3M Company provides diversified technology services in the United States and internationally. The company’s Safety and Industrial segment offers industrial abrasives and finishing for metalworking applications; autobody repair solutions; closure systems for personal hygiene products, masking, and packaging materials; electrical products and materials for construction and maintenance, power distribution, and electrical original equipment manufacturers; structural adhesives and tapes; respiratory, hearing, eye, and fall protection solutions; and natural and color-coated mineral granules for shingles.